Package-delivery bicycle.



I. STEINBERG. PACKAGE DELIVERY BICYCLE.

APPLIGATION FILED 11113.25, 1912.

Patented J an..14, 1913.

ISRAEL STEINBERG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PACKAGE-DELIVERY BICYCLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1913.

Application filed March 25, 1912. Serial No. 686,066.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, ISRAEL STEINBERG, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, county and Stateof New York, have invented a certain new and useful Package-- DeliveryBicycle, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a package delivery bicycle, and the object of theinvention is to enable packages to be safely and securely carried andwithout material hindrance or inconvenience to the rider.

lVith these objects in view, the invention consists in a novelconstruction of the frame of the bicycle, whereby a relatively largepackage holder may be securely fastened thereto and carried thereby andwithout exerting undue strain on the mechanism of the bicycle. Thebicycle is of the t safety type except that the front wheel is madematerially smaller than the rear wheel, and, further, a considerablylarger wheel base is provided. These differences in construction permitof securing a very considerable depth or distance between the upper andlower members of the frame, and, moreover, a

mediate the upper and lower members andbetween the steering head andsaddle post to introduce a relatively large package holder withoutinterfering with the rider.

The forward or looped portion of the upper member of the frame ispreferably made substantially rectangular in shape, whereby the packagereceptacle may be suspended therefrom, and in the preferred form ofconstruction I provide a supporting member extending between the upperand lower members of the frame just rearwardly of the package carrier.This latter feature of construction greatly adds to the weightsustaining power of the upper member of the frame, and, to a greatextent, relieves vibration and strain from the lower member of saidframe.

Other features of the invention, and the advantages thereof, will appearfrom the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated one practicalembodiment of the invention, but the construction shown therein is to beunderstood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of theinvention.

Figure l is a side elevation of a package delivery bicycle embodying thepresent invention. Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is afragmentary view in elevation, illustrating one embodiment of means fordetachably and hingedly connecting a cover to the package holder. Fig. 4is a cross section through the device of Fig. 3. Figs. 5

and 6 are detail views in section and elevation, respectively, of a.means for locking the cover to the package holder. Fig. 7 is a detailview, partly in section, illustrating means on the steering spindle ofthe bicycle for retaining the cover of the package holder in a closedposition. when the front steering wheel is in an operative position,said means being adapted for releasing the cover when the front steeringwheel and steering spindle are turned to occupy the position indicatedin dotted lines in Fig. l.

The general form of the bicycle shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawingsis similar to the ordinary safety bicycle, but in adapting the packageholder to such a bicycle it has been found necessary ,to modify the construction of the frame and to reduce the diameter of the front steeringwheel, whereby the frame, as constructed by me, is adapted toaccommodate a package holder of comparatively large dimensions, thusincreasing the load carrying capacity of the bicycle, without, however,involving any substantial increase in the weight of the machine, or inany way interfering with the free operation of the pedals by the rider.

The bicycle frame A embodies a steering head a. a saddle post a, anupper member or reach Z). extending from the steering head to the saddlepost at the upper parts thereof, a lower member or reach 1), extendingfrom the lower part of the steering head to the crank; hanger, arearwardly extending reach r positioned between the crank hanger and thebearings c for the rear axle, and a rear brace (7 extending from thebearings of the rear axle to the upper part of the saddle post a. As isusual, the saddle post supports a saddle (7. and over the rear wheel isa mud guard c.

B is the rear driving wheel, and C is a front steering wheel, thediameter of said front steering wheel being substantially less than thatof the rear driving wheel, it being preferred to employ a front wheelwhich from four to SlX inches smaller in diameter than the rear wheel.The axle of the front steering wheel is supported in a steering' forkwhich forms a part of a steering spindle C. The steering spindle isconnect ed operatively with the stem of a handle bar C by means of aclamp 0 the construction. of which parts are well known to those skilledin the art. The rear wheel is rotated by a chain 7) driven from asprocket 79 on a c *ank shaft journaled in the crank hanger, said crankshaft having cranks 7) and pedals 79, all as is usual in the art.

The employment of a front wheel C of less diameter than rear wheel Benables me to employ steering head a which is consid erably longer thanthe steering heads used in ordinary safety bicycles, and thus the lowerreach 7) is positioned a considerable distance below the upper reach 7;,for the purpose of accommodating a package holder the depth of whichgreatly exceeds the depth of a, package holder which can be used on anordinal; iicycle frame. It will. be observed that in the constructionshown the upper frame member is horizontal, and that the forward portionof the lower member is in a plane substantially parallel with the loopedportion. of the upper member. This is an important factor in theconstruction of bicycles adapted for the delivery of merchandise bystorekoepers and merchants, for the reason that many business housesfind it necessary to employ a package holder of relatively largecapacity in order to meet the demands of their business.

The upper member or reach 7) of the frame is provided with a loop orsubstantially rectangular portion D, said loop being positioned at thefront part of reach 7), and directly at the rear of steering head a,itbeing observed that loop D is in the same horizontal plane as reach7). In fact. it may be stated. that the front bar (7 of loop D isjoined. directly to the steering head, the two parts of said front barextending in opposite directions from the steering head, as shown inFig. 2.

E designates the package holder, and E the top or cover thereof. Thepackage bolder positioned within the rectangular portion or loop D ofupper reach 7), said. package holder extending through the loop andsubstantially filling the space in the front part of frame A. betweenthe upper and lower reaches 7), 7), and steering head a. The packageholder E is shown as consisting of an open-work or foraminous fabric,preferably composed of crossing or intersecting wires attached to asuitable marginal frame 6. The package holder is closed at its bottom,front, sides and rear, the top thereof being open. Said package holderis fastened by suitable devices to the loo-p or rectangular portion D ofthe frame, preferably by means of clamps c, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.Each clamp is fitted around the loop or rectangular portion D, and itembraces the marginal frame 6, the parts of the clamp being fastenedtogether by a screw or bolt 6 see Fig. 4. It will be understood that aseries of clamps c are attached at proper intervals to the loopedportion D of the up per frame reach 7) and the marginal frame 0 of thepackage holder, whereby said package holder is securely and detachablyfastened to the upper reach 7), for the purpose of suspending thepackage holder and its load directly from reach 7; and independently ofthe lower reach 6.

Cover E of the package holder is hinged at its rear edge to the holderE, it being preferred to detachably connect said cover to the holder bymeans illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4-. The cover is provided with arms fhaving eyes f, and frame 0 of the package holder is provided with arms 9having eyes 9, the arms f, 9 being in alinement with each other so thata single hinge rod can pass through said eyes. The hinge rod F thusoperates to connect the cover to the package holder, but said rod can bewithdrawn from the eyes of the cover and the package holder. thusremoving the rod and disconnecting the cover. It is evident that thecover may be easily and quickly removed from the package holder. so thatthe package holder can be used without employing the cover, although forsafety in delivering the packages, it is preferred to use the hingedcover to close the top of the package holder.

The front part of cover E is provided with a recess 7L which is adaptedto fit around the steering head a of the frame. The clamp c whichconnects the steering bar to the steering spindle is adapted to proiectrearwardly over the recessed front edge 72. of this cover in the normalposition of th e. front steering wheel, the steering spindle, and thesteering bar, whereby the clamp acts to retain the cover E in a closedposition over the package holder. This makes it necessary, in thespecific structure shown, for the operator to reverse the steering spindle in order to throw wheel C somewhat below reach I) of the frame, andto turn the handle bars C into the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 1, thus moving the clamp c to a position out of the path of therecessed front edge h of cover E. The coy'er may now be raised on theaxis afforded by the hinge rod F so as to assume the dotted lineposition of Fig. 1, whereupon the operator is enabled to obtain readyaccess to the packages within holder E. hen the cover is closed, thesteering spindle G should be turned around in order to restore thesteering wheel and handle bars to their operative positions, whereuponthe clamp 0 again projects over the cover so as to retain it in theclosed position.

Under some circumstances it is desirable to provide means for lockingcover E to the package holder E, and in Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown ahasp H and a keeper H adapted to cooperate with an ordinary padlock. Thehasp is hinged on a rod 6 at the front edge of cover E, said hasp havinga slot h to receive the keeper H. This keeper is shown as a stapleattached to a plate 2' which cooperates with a plate 2" and clampingscrews '5 whereby keeper H is easily and readily attached in a fixedposition to the front wall of the package holder E.

The employment of a package holder suspended from the upper reach I) ofthe bicycle frame imposes considerable weight upon the reach,particularly when the package holder carries a load of considerableweight. To prevent sagging. of this reach 7) under the weight of thepackage holder and its load, I may employ a supporting memher I which ispositioned between the reaches Z), Z), and at the rear of the packageholder E. The upper end of this supporting member I is attached in asuitable way to the reach 7), whereas the lower end of said member I isfastened to the lower reach Z), said member I being thus rigidly unitedto the upper and lower reaches intermediate the ends thereof. A strongand durable frame is thus provided for supporting the package holder.

When the rider dismounts from the bicycle preliminary to the delivery ofthe goods, it is desirable to provide means for precluding the machinefrom tipping over side-wise. To this end I employ a stand J,substantially triangular in shape. This stand is pivotally or looselyconnected to the axle of the rear wheel or to the rearwardly extendingreach 0. When the rider dismounts the stand J is lowered to rest uponthe ground, and thus support the bicycle from tipping over sidewise.Before mounting the machine, the operator should lift the stand J to thefull line position of Figs. 1 and 2, the free end of the stand beingengaged by a catch 7' attached to the rear of mud guard a for supportingthe stand in a raised inoperative position.

The operation and advantages of the invention will be readily understoodby those skilled in the art from the preceding description taken inconnection with the drawings.

In the drawings the hinge rod F for con necting the cover to the packageholder is positioned externally of the package holder, but it ispreferred to dispose this hinge rod on the inside of the package holder,to accomplish which it is only necessary to arrange arms 7 and g toextend into the package holder, thus bringing the eyes f, 9 intoalinement within the package holder for receiving the hinge rod F.

As shown, the arms 9 are parts of the clamps e by which the packageholder is fastened detachably to the looped part D of upper reach I),but, obviously, these arms 9 of the receptacle may be made separate fromthe clamps 6', although this is the preferred construction.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is 2- 1. In a package deliverybicycle. the combination of a frame provided with upper and lowermembers extending from the steering head to the saddle post, said uppermember having at its forward end a loopshaped portion for receiving apackage holder, which loop-shaped portion is directly connected with andextends from the steering head, said looped portion being connected atanother part thereof directly with that part of the upper member whichextends to the saddle post, a driving wheel, a steering wheel, and apackage holder positioned within said loop.

2. In a package delivery bicycle, the combination of a frame providedwith upper and lower members extending from the steering head to thesaddle post, said upper member having at its forward end a loopshapedportion for receiving a package holder, which loop-shaped portion is directlv connected with and extends from the steering head, said loopedportion being connected at another part thereof directly with that partof the upper member which extends to the saddle post, a supporting braceextending between the upper and lower frame members and positionedrearwardlv of said loop-shaped portion, a driving wheel, a steeringwheel, and a package holder positioned within said loop.

3. In a package delivery bicycle, the combination of a frame having anupper substantially horizontal member extending from the steering headto the saddle post and provided with a loop at its forward In testimonywhereof I have signed my portion, a lower member also extending name tothis specification in the presence of 10 from the steering head to thesaddle post, two subscribing witnesses.

iteaid lower member havlng a torward por- ISRAEL STEINBERG.

Jon positioned in a plane substantially palnllol to the plane of Saidloop, a driving lVitnesses:

wheel, and asteering wheel substantially H. I. BERNHARD,

less in diameter than the driving wheel. MARY E. FREEMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

